Online auction services provide, an electronic forum or marketplace through which a set of auction participants may submit bids for one or more items being offered by a sellers. Typically, a participant generates one or more bids via a client computer system that is coupled via the internet to an auction host or server. During the course of an online auction for a single item, the auction host receives and processes bids, and determines which participant is currently the highest bidder, and hence the auction winner, at any given time.
Any given participant may specify a proxy value that indicates a maximum amount that the participant is willing to pay or spend during an online auction. After initiating the auction, the auction host may automatically adjust any given participant""s bid in accordance with a minimum bid increment and the participant""s proxy value. As a, result, participants need not continually monitor the auction""s progress. Rather, a participant may occasionally check the auction""s status, and selectively submit one or more updated bids as required, where an updated bid may include an updated proxy value.
A multi-unit or Dutch auction provides a bidding environment in which multiple participants may bid for multiple items. For example, an auction may involve twenty participants bidding for ten items, where each participant desires a single item (in another example, any given participant could desire one or more items). In such a situation, the ten participants who submitted the highest bids will each receive one item at a price given by a lowest common bid amount.
As a more detailed example, a seller may offer or list five hubcaps for sale at $50.00 each. The auction host, possibly in conjunction with parameters specified by the seller, may define a minimum bid increment, which in the context of this example is defined as $1.00. A first bidder, Mary, wants three of the hubcaps, and submits a bid totaling $100.00. A second bidder, Hank, wants the remaining two hubcaps, and submits a bid totaling $110.00. Both Mary and Hank may have the option of accepting fewer items than they desire. Next, a third bidder, John, submits a bid totaling $75.00 for all five items. The auction host may then increase Mary and Hank""s bid amounts to $76.00, in which case John will need to submit a bid greater than $76.00 to win the auction. In the event that John submits a bid of $125.00 for all five items, the auction host enters his bid as $111.00, which equals the previous high bid amount (Hank""s bid of $110.00) plus the minimum bid increment. If neither Mary nor Hank submit further bids, John will receive all five hubcaps for $111.00.
A significant deficiency of prior online auction services is that they fail to support proxy bidding within the context of Dutch auctions. The present invention overcomes his inadequacy, as described in detail below.
The present invention comprises a system and method that provides proxy bidding services within the context of online Dutch auctions. In one embodiment, the system comprises a set of client or participant systems that are coupled to an auction server via the internet. A participant system comprises a conventional computer system or workstation capable of communicating over the internet. The auction server may comprise a computer system having a processing unit; an input/output, (I/O) unit; a data storage unit; a video and graphics unit; a memory wherein an operating system, a web server, and an auction manager reside; and a communication unit that facilitates internet-based data exchange.
Each participant system is responsive to input generated by a corresponding user or auction participant, and selectively generates, issues, and/or transfers participant information, offered item information, and/or bids to the auction server in response to such input. The auction server, is coupled to a database that capable of storing information associated with auction participants and items offered for sale.
During an online auction, a participant system may generate one or more bids directed to the auction server. Any given bid may include or specify a participant identification (ID) signal; a quantity requested value that indicates a number of items that the participant desires; a proxy value that indicates a maximum amount that the participant is willing to spend (i.e., the participant""s spending cap corresponding to a given auction); and a partial acceptance flag that indicates whether the participant is willing to accept a number of items less than that specified by the quantity requested value.
In one embodiment, a method for providing proxy-based Dutch auction services includes the steps of establishing initial auction parameters and retrieving participant information; receiving a bid; determining whether the bid is valid; determining or calculating a bid position or ranking relative to previously-received bids; and determining, a current set of auction winners and auction losers. The method further includes the steps of generating a current bid amount, and automatically adjusting participants"" existing bids relative to their most-recently specified proxy value. Additionally, the method may include the steps of issuing notification messages to participants to inform them of their current status; and accepting and storing a new bid.
Relative to determining bid positions, rankings, and/or priorities, the method in one embodiment includes the steps of sorting bids in accordance with each participant""s current proxy value; determining for each bid whether an available item quantity is greater than zero; and determining whether the available item quantity is greater than or equal to the participant""s most-recent quantity requested value. If so, the method may record an accepted bid; otherwise, the method may record a partial bid. In either case, the method decrements the available item quantity by the quantity requested, and records a quantity accepted value.
If, for each bid, the available item quantity is not greater than zero, the method determines whether a bid was recorded. If not, the method leaves a current bid unchanged. If a bid has been recorded, the method determines whether a last accepted bid was for a partial quantity, in which case the method sets the current bid to a most-recently failed bid amount. In the event that the last accepted bid does not correspond to a partial quantity, the method sets the current bid to the most-recently failed bid amount plus an increment value.